Who sells the best pizza? How fast can worms go? Ask these scientists

Published: Friday, March 27, 1998 at 3:15 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, March 27, 1998 at 12:00 a.m.

Science fair projects need not be about circuitry or planets. Worm speed and pizza diameter are fair game, too.

Crawlers and Italian pies were two of the subjects represented this week during the Piedmont Region 3 Science Fair at the University of South Carolina-Spartanburg's Hodge Gymnasium. More than 650 students from elementary, middle, junior high and high schools in six South Carolina counties entered projects in the fair. Spartanburg, Cherokee, Union, Lancaster, York and Chester counties were represented. The projects are on public display from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today. Judges picked Gaffney Senior High student Mary Hamrick's "Recurring Dental Decay and Discoloration" project as the fair's overall winner. Hamrick's project will be entered in the International Science Fair in Fort Worth, Texas. And on Saturday, 72 category winners and more than 50 special awards will be presented. Joe Johnson, a sixth-grader at O.P. Earle Elementary in Campobello, failed to secure a grand prize ribbon, but his project afforded him certain privileges. "He got to bring worms into the house," said his mother, Janet Johnson. Joe wanted to learn more about the rapidity at which worms travel through dirt. "I found out the small worms in compost dirt go faster than big worms in red dirt," he said. Eleven-year-old Susanne Sisco, a fifth-grader at Boiling Springs Elementary, wanted a project that would satisfy both class requirements and a healthy appetite. Susanne convinced her mother to purchase pizzas from various restaurants. Then she divided the total cost by the pizza diameter to determine which pizza maker gave the most food for the money. "I bet we bought seven or eight pizzas," said Susanne's mother, Mary Ann. Susanne's project revealed that Little Caesar's Pizza provided the best pizza value. But value and taste are separate matters. "Venus Pie tasted the best," she said, praising the pizzeria in downtown Spartanburg. Sussanne said her project was much more pleasant than one classmate's entry. "My friend did a science project about her mom's gallstone," she said. "I think that's gross."

<p> Science fair projects need not be about circuitry or planets. Worm speed and pizza diameter are fair game, too.</p><p>Crawlers and Italian pies were two of the subjects represented this week during the Piedmont Region 3 Science Fair at the University of South Carolina-Spartanburg's Hodge Gymnasium. More than 650 students from elementary, middle, junior high and high schools in six South Carolina counties entered projects in the fair. Spartanburg, Cherokee, Union, Lancaster, York and Chester counties were represented. The projects are on public display from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today. Judges picked Gaffney Senior High student Mary Hamrick's "Recurring Dental Decay and Discoloration" project as the fair's overall winner. Hamrick's project will be entered in the International Science Fair in Fort Worth, Texas. And on Saturday, 72 category winners and more than 50 special awards will be presented. Joe Johnson, a sixth-grader at O.P. Earle Elementary in Campobello, failed to secure a grand prize ribbon, but his project afforded him certain privileges. "He got to bring worms into the house," said his mother, Janet Johnson. Joe wanted to learn more about the rapidity at which worms travel through dirt. "I found out the small worms in compost dirt go faster than big worms in red dirt," he said. Eleven-year-old Susanne Sisco, a fifth-grader at Boiling Springs Elementary, wanted a project that would satisfy both class requirements and a healthy appetite. Susanne convinced her mother to purchase pizzas from various restaurants. Then she divided the total cost by the pizza diameter to determine which pizza maker gave the most food for the money. "I bet we bought seven or eight pizzas," said Susanne's mother, Mary Ann. Susanne's project revealed that Little Caesar's Pizza provided the best pizza value. But value and taste are separate matters. "Venus Pie tasted the best," she said, praising the pizzeria in downtown Spartanburg. Sussanne said her project was much more pleasant than one classmate's entry. "My friend did a science project about her mom's gallstone," she said. "I think that's gross."</p>